Why Ruto-Raila Deal Is Not A Coalition
It may sound like a small difference, and it might be interpreted as another handshake, but there is a huge difference between the two in terms of their operation and implementation.
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
President William Ruto and Raila Odinga on Friday, March 7 signed what is now called a political cooperation agreement, which is not to mean a coalition agreement as has been the case in similar agreements spanning more than 30 years.
It may sound like a small difference, and it might be interpreted as another handshake, but there is a huge difference between the two in terms of their operation and implementation.
A political cooperation deal is an agreement between political entities—such as parties, coalitions, or individual leaders—to work together on specific issues or shared objectives.
Comparatively, and in multi-party states, a coalition agreement is an agreement negotiated between the parties that form a coalition government. It codifies the most important shared goals and objectives of the cabinet. It is often written by the leaders of the parliamentary groups.
President William Ruto (right) and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga arrive at the KICC for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Friday, March 7, 2025. /PCS
That is how coalition agreements work in Kenya; a partnership between two or more political parties united to achieve a common goal, often to improve their electoral prospects or increase their legislative influence.
In Kenya, coalitions can be formed either before or after elections. While working together on shared objectives, each party within the coalition maintains its legal identity and operates independently.
Unlike formal coalitions or mergers, cooperation agreements are typically more flexible, without legally binding or long-term commitments. They are often designed to tackle particular challenges or advance common interests without requiring a fully unified political alliance.
This is the nature of the agreement signed between the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). To clarify, the deal was specifically between UDA and ODM, not the Kenya Kwanza coalition.
The two parties signed a 10-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening national unity and addressing governance issues. Key commitments include the full implementation of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report, ensuring inclusivity in budget allocations and public appointments, and protecting the principles of devolution.
The MoU also emphasizes economic investments benefiting the youth, promoting leadership integrity, and discouraging extravagant lifestyles among public officials.
Additionally, the agreement calls for safeguarding citizens' rights to peaceful assembly, compensating victims of rights violations, and conducting a comprehensive audit of national debt usage.
Other provisions focus on tackling corruption, eliminating wasteful spending of public resources, and upholding the sovereignty of the people by preventing abductions. It further underscores a commitment to constitutionalism, the rule of law, and press freedom.
“The MoU we have signed today does not define the formation of a political coalition between ODM and UDA,” Raila made it absolutely clear, adding, “However, its successful implementation could form the basis for steps towards establishing a broadly constructive formation for a stable country in the future.”
However, this political cooperation deal has one similarity...we'd have to go back to 2018 when Raila signed something similar to President Ruto's former boss, Uhuru Kenyatta, in the infamous handshake of March 9, 2018, a watershed event which was so surprising that it caught Kenyans unawares in the morning hours.
At the time, the infamous 'handshake' brought an end to the acrimony between leading political parties and tribes and promised to usher in a new era of peace, with the two leaders pledging to work together to address ethnic division, corruption, and historical injustice.
This agreement, therefore, serves as a "working political framework," a term not officially recognized in Kenyan political terminology. It broadly refers to informal or formal arrangements between political parties or leaders to cooperate on specific issues or offer mutual support in legislative matters without establishing a formal coalition or merging into one party.
